JP2003230026A - Digital still camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital still camera, wherein the thickness of an photographing lens mirror barrel can be made thin to the utmost. <P>SOLUTION: In the digital still camera having: a camera main body section 24; and the photographing lens mirror barrel 1 provided with an photographing optical system POS; the photographing lens mirror barrel 1 being supported turnably with the main body section 24 around a rotary shaft orthogonal to an photographing optical axis X, the photographing lens mirror barrel 1 has a swell section 1B formed by part of the photographing lens mirror barrel 1 at the side of the photographing optical system POS swollen toward the main body, and a light emission section (e.g. a flash light emission section for object lighting) FL emitting a light to the object is placed to the swell section 1B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital still camera in which a taking lens barrel is rotatable with respect to a main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional digital still camera of this type has a main body 100 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, for example.
The taking lens barrel portion 200 is configured separately, and the taking lens barrel portion 200 is rotatably supported by the main body portion 100 around an axis X orthogonal to the lens optical axis. Body 1
00 is provided with a liquid crystal monitor, and is also provided with a housing for a power supply battery and a memory card. The taking lens barrel section 200 is provided with a taking optical system 201, a finder optical system 202, a flash light emitting section 203, and the like. Both the main body portion 100 and the taking lens barrel portion 200 have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the surfaces facing each other are flat surfaces having no unevenness.

[0003]

In the example of FIG. 11, the photographing optical system 201 and the finder optical system 202 are arranged side by side in the camera width direction, and the photographing optical system 201 and the flash light emitting section 203 are arranged side by side in the thickness direction. It is a thing. With this arrangement, the width W of the taking lens barrel portion 200 can be made relatively narrow, but the thickness D ′ must be significantly thicker than the thickness D required for the main body portion 100. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 12, the photographing optical system 201, the finder optical system 202, and the flash light emitting section 20.
3 are arranged in the camera width direction, and the flash light emitting unit 20
The arc tube 203a of No. 3 is arranged so as to extend in the thickness direction. The reason why the arc tube 203a is arranged in the thickness direction is to make the width W of the taking lens barrel 200 as short as possible, but it is still longer than the example of FIG. Further, since the length of the arc tube 203a in the longitudinal direction is longer than the diameter of the photographing optical system 201, the thickness D ′ of the photographing lens barrel portion 200 is thinner than that in the example of FIG. 11, but is defined by the photographing optical system. Thicker than the main body 100.

An object of the present invention is to provide a digital still camera in which the thickness of the lens barrel of the taking lens can be made as thin as possible.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a camera main body and a taking lens barrel portion provided with a taking optical system, and the taking lens barrel portion is provided around a rotation axis orthogonal to the taking optical axis. It is applied to a digital still camera that is rotatably supported by the main body. According to the invention of claim 1, a bulging portion formed by bulging a part of a side of the photographic optical system to the main body side is provided in the photographing lens barrel, and the bulging portion is irradiated with light toward the subject side. The above-mentioned problem is solved by arranging the light emitting portion for According to the invention of claim 2, the light emitting portion is a flash light emitting portion for illuminating a subject, and the light emitting tube of the flash light emitting portion is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is substantially parallel to the rotation axis. According to a third aspect of the present invention, a lens cover is provided that is movable between a closed position that covers the front surface of the photographing optical system and an open position that retracts from the front surface of the photographing optical system. A bulging portion formed by bulging a part of the side portion to the main body side is provided, and the lens cover in the open position is located inside or on the front surface of the bulging portion. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a further bulge portion that bulges toward the main body is provided at a portion of the taking lens barrel portion opposite to the bulge portion with the rotary shaft interposed therebetween. The invention of claim 5 is
A main capacitor for storing electric charge for flashing light is arranged on the further bulging portion. According to the invention of claim 6, a monitor device for confirming an image is provided on the main body, and the monitor device is arranged so that a part of the monitor device is sandwiched between the bulging portions.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7 show a digital still camera according to this embodiment. This digital still camera is composed of a main body 24 and a photographing lens barrel (hereinafter, simply barrel) 1, and the barrel 1 is rotatably supported by the main body 24. That is, the member 56 that constitutes the lens barrel portion 1.
A cylindrical rotation shaft portion 56a (FIG. 3) is formed in the shaft portion 56a, and the shaft portion 56a is rotatably supported by the metal plate 55 on the body portion 24 side. As a result, the lens barrel portion 1 can be rotated with respect to the main body portion 1 about the axis X that is orthogonal to the optical axis (shooting optical axis) of the shooting optical system POS. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the lens barrel portion 1 is rotated 90 degrees with respect to the main body portion 24.

The configuration of the lens barrel portion 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The lens barrel portion 1 is covered with an exterior cover 22, and a photographing optical system POS is provided in its internal space. Shooting optical system P
The OS includes the lens 2 held by the holding member 15, the lenses 3 and 4 held by the lens frame 11, the lenses 5 and 6 held by the lens frame 12, and the lens 8 held by the fixed barrel 14. Have. 23 is a cover glass for protecting the lens,
Reference numeral 29 is a shutter.

A pair of guide shafts 13 are bridged between the holding member 15 and the fixed barrel 14, and by moving the lens frame 11 along the shafts 13 in the optical axis direction, focusing is similarly performed. Zooming is performed by moving 12. The fixed barrel 14 also holds an optical low-pass filter 9 and a CCD 10 as an image pickup element, and the focusing stepping motor 4 shown in FIG.
1 and a stepping motor 42 for zooming are also supported. Then, the subject light flux that has passed through the lenses 2 to 8 and the shutter 29 passes through the low-pass filter 9 and the CCD 10
The light is received by and is converted into an analog image signal by the CCD 10.

The photographing optical system POS, the low-pass filter filter 9, the CCD 10, and the motors 41 and 42 described above are unitized in advance and arranged in the lens barrel 1 as an image pickup unit UN. In the rear of the image pickup unit UN, the CCD 1
A circuit board 17 on which circuit elements for converting an analog image signal from 0 to a digital signal are mounted is provided.
The digitally converted signal is subjected to predetermined image processing, and then, as image data, the memory card 2 on the main body 24 side.
Recorded in 5.

A main condenser 21 for flashing light is arranged at the rear end of the lens barrel 1 which is further rearward of the circuit board 17. Since the main condenser 21 has a diameter larger than the width of the image pickup unit UN, the arrangement portion thereof is bulged toward the main body portion by the amount necessary to accommodate the condenser 21 (bulging portion 1A).

On the other hand, from the front surface of the lens barrel portion 1, the photographing optical system PO
A portion up to the vicinity of the central portion of S is also bulged toward the main body portion 24 side, and the flash light emitting portion FL is arranged in the bulging portion 1B.
The flash emission unit FL includes a flash emission tube 18 and a reflector 19
And the flash light emitting circuit 20 and the like, and the flash light emitting tube 18 is arranged laterally, that is, the longitudinal direction thereof extends in the width direction. Reference numeral 31 is a transparent protective plate that covers the light emitting window. The arc tube 18 emits light by the electric charge stored in the main capacitor 21 to illuminate a subject. In addition, the flash emission unit F
A light emitting device for illuminating the AF auxiliary light is provided above the L, and the illumination light is emitted to the subject side through the window 32 shown in FIG.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the bulging portions 1A and 1B are provided in front of and behind the lens barrel portion 1, the lens barrel portion 1
Is not a rectangular parallelepiped shape as in the past, but has a substantially concave cross section. Since the bulging portion 1B allows the width of the front portion of the lens barrel portion 1 to be wide, the light emitting portion FL is placed horizontally on the side of the photographing optical system POS, that is, the longitudinal direction of the light emitting tube 18 is the rotation axis. It can be arranged to be parallel to X. In this case, the dimension of the flash light emitting portion FL in the camera thickness direction is determined by the dimension of the reflector 19 in the same direction (smaller than the diameter of the image pickup unit UN), and therefore the thickness D (FIG. 6) of the lens barrel portion 1 is substantially. It depends on the diameter of the imaging unit UN. Therefore,
The thickness D can be made smaller than in the case of the conventional example of FIG. 11 as well as the case where the light emitting unit is vertically arranged beside the photographing optical system as in the conventional example of FIG. Further, the optical axis of the flash light emitting unit FL can be separated from the photographing optical axis as compared with the case of vertical installation, and the effect of reducing the red eye can be obtained.

Next, the structure of the main body 24 will be described. The main body 24 is covered with a metallic outer cover, and its shape is a substantially convex shape corresponding to the lens barrel 1. That is, the convex portion of the main body portion 24 is inserted into the concave portion of the lens barrel portion 1 so that the camera as a whole has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The width W (FIG. 3) of the lens barrel portion 1 in the vicinity of the rotation axis X is formed to have a size necessary and sufficient for disposing the unit UN and the circuit board 17, so that the convex portion of the main body portion 1 is The liquid crystal monitor 27, the memory card 25, the power supply battery 26, and the electric circuit board 28 can be accommodated therein.

The liquid crystal monitor 27 is for confirming an image and for displaying various images, and the liquid crystal surface is exposed to the outside as shown in FIG. Since the photographer can use the liquid crystal monitor 27 not only for confirming the photographed image but also as a finder substitute, a dedicated optical finder is not necessary.
Then, as shown in FIG.
The liquid crystal monitor 27 can be arranged in the center of the camera where it is most easy to use by inserting the liquid crystal monitor 27 between the bulging portions 1A and 1B.

As the power source battery 26, a thin box battery is used instead of the conventional cylindrical battery. This battery 26
The memory card 25 can be inserted into and removed from the main body 24 by opening the cover 49 shown in FIG. The circuit board 28 includes a CPU, a memory, D for controlling the camera operation.
A C / DC converter or the like is mounted, and the front end portion of the substrate 28 is located at a position adjacent to the bulging portion 1A (FIG. 1). In the present embodiment, the thickness D of the main body portion 24 can be made thinner than in the conventional case by making the distance between these members 25 to 28 as narrow as possible, or by using a thin battery, and thus the thickness of the lens barrel portion 1 described above can be reduced. Together with this, the overall thickness of the camera can be reduced.

5 to 7 show the external structure of the camera. A dial 33 for selecting a shooting mode of the camera, a power switch 34, and a shutter release button 35 are provided on the front surface of the main body 24, and a hole 36 for guiding sound to an internal microphone (not shown) is provided. Has been formed. Further, on the surface of the main body portion 24 on the liquid crystal monitor side, zoom up / down buttons 38 and 39 and a reproduction button 42 are provided.
A lamp window 43 for displaying the state of charge of the main capacitor 21, a cross key 44 for scrolling the operation display menu of the camera and selecting a function, a speaker hole 45, a flash light emission mode and Button 46 for setting the exposure compensation amount and button 47 for setting the self-timer
And a button 48 for displaying a menu image on the liquid crystal monitor 27. Further, on the rear surface of the main body portion 24, a strap thread 50, a tripod screw 51, and a lid 52 of a connector portion for connecting to a cradle (not shown) or other external equipment are provided.

Although the camera described above is not provided with an optical finder, an example in which an optical finder is provided in the lens barrel 1 is shown in FIGS. In this case, the finder optical system FOS is arranged on the side of the image pickup unit UN (on the side opposite to the flash emission section FL), and the diameter of the finder optical system FOS is smaller than the diameter of the image pickup unit UN, so the lens barrel portion The thickness D of 1 is the same as in the previous embodiment.

Further, in the above, both the flash light emitting portion and the AF auxiliary light emitting portion are provided in the bulging portion 1A, but the present invention can be realized with either one. Furthermore, the method of using the bulging portion 1B is not limited to housing the light emitting portion, and may be used as a retracting portion of the lens cover, for example. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, a lens cover (lens barrier) LC that is slidably movable between a closed position that covers the front surface of the photographing optical system POS and an open position that retracts from the front surface of the photographing optical system POS,
The lens cover LC may be retracted to the front surface of the bulging portion 1B when opened. In this case, the bulge 1
It is also possible to arrange some camera components inside B. Further, the lens cover LC may be retracted inside the bulging portion 1B.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, the light emitting portion FL is constructed so as to be capable of projecting / accommodating with respect to the bulging portion 1B, and the lens barrel portion 1 is rotated 90 degrees with respect to the main body portion 24 as shown in FIG. In conjunction with this, the projecting state (FIG. 13 (B)) is set, and in return to the state of FIG. 5, the retracted state is set (FIG. 13 (A)).
May be Here, in the retracted state, the front surface 31 of the bulging portion 1B covers the front surface of the photographing optical system POS and functions as a lens cover, and in the protruding state, the front surface 31 retracts from the front surface of the photographing optical system POS. Front 3
1 is provided with a light emitting window 31a, and this light emitting window 31a is always in a position facing the light emitting portion FL.

Further, although the main condenser 21 is arranged in the bulging portion 1A at the rear end portion of the lens barrel portion 1, other members may be arranged here. The bulging portion 1A at the rear end is not essential,
If not, both the lens barrel portion 1 and the body portion 24 are substantially L-shaped.

[0021]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the photographic lens barrel portion is provided with the bulging portion formed by bulging a part of the side of the photographic optical system toward the main body side, and the light emitting portion is provided in the bulging portion. Since the lens barrel is arranged, the photographing optical system and the light emitting portion can be arranged in the lateral direction (the direction in which the lens barrel portion and the main body portion are arranged), and the lens barrel portion can be made thin.
Since the bulging portion is only a part and the body portion can be bited into the non-bulging portion, the bulging portion does not reduce the size of the camera body. According to the invention of claim 3, since the bulging portion is used as the retracting portion of the lens cover, it is possible to provide the lens cover without increasing the size of the camera.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a digital still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a lens barrel of a taking lens.

FIG. 4 is an external view showing a state in which the taking lens barrel section is rotated 90 degrees with respect to the main body section.

5 is an external view of the digital still camera seen from the opposite direction to FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view as seen from line VI-VI in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram viewed from the line VII-VII in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view when applied to a camera with an optical viewfinder.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram when applied to a camera with an optical viewfinder and is a diagram for comparison with a conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which a bulging portion is used as a retracting portion of a lens barrier.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a problem of a conventional camera.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a problem of another conventional camera.

FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view of a camera showing another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Shooting lens barrel 1A, 1B bulge 9 Optical low-pass filter 10 CCD 17 circuit board 21 Main capacitor 24 Body 25 memory card 26 power battery 27 LCD monitor 28 circuit board FOS finder optical system FL Flash emission part LC lens cover POS shooting optical system UN Imaging unit X rotation axis

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G03B 17/04 G03B 17/04 2H101 19/02 19/02 5C022 // H04N 101: 00 H04N 101: 00 F Terms (reference) 2H044 AE01 2H053 CA18 CA45 2H054 AA01 2H083 CC22 2H100 AA32 AA33 AA61 BB05 BB07 BB09 2H101 BB00 BB03 5C022 AA13 AB15 AC01 AC31 AC42 AC54 AC61 AC77

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A camera main body and a photographing lens barrel provided with a photographing optical system, and the photographing lens barrel is rotatably supported by the main body around a rotation axis orthogonal to the photographing optical axis. In the digital still camera configured as described above, the photographing lens barrel portion has a bulging portion formed by bulging a part of a side of the photographing optical system toward the main body portion,
A digital still camera characterized in that a light emitting portion for irradiating light to the subject side is arranged in the bulging portion. 2. The light emitting unit is a flash light emitting unit for illuminating a subject, and the light emitting tube of the flash light emitting unit is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is substantially parallel to the rotation axis. The digital still camera according to claim 1. 3. A camera main body section and a taking lens barrel section provided with a taking optical system, and the taking lens barrel section is rotatably supported by the main body section around a rotation axis orthogonal to the photographing optical axis. In the digital still camera configured as described above, a lens cover that is movable between a closed position that covers the front surface of the photographic optical system and an open position that retracts from the front surface of the photographic optical system, and the photographic lens barrel portion is provided. A part of the photographing optical system on the side has a bulge formed by bulging toward the main body side, and the lens cover in the open position is located inside or in front of the bulge. Is a digital still camera. 4. The photographic lens barrel portion has a further bulge portion bulging toward the main body side at a portion opposite to the bulge portion with the rotary shaft interposed therebetween. The digital still camera according to claim 1, wherein the digital still camera is a digital still camera. 5. The digital still camera according to claim 4, wherein a main capacitor that stores electric charges for flashing light is arranged in the further bulging portion. 6. A monitor device for confirming an image is provided on the main body, and the monitor device is arranged such that a part of the monitor device is sandwiched between the bulging portions. Or the digital still camera described in 5.